Chapter 15: Not a Mate

The seasoned meat dishes became even more delicious.

Lin Huanhuan filled a large bowl with some of the dishes. She said to Bai Di, “When I was tanning animal hides by the river during the day, Shuang Yun helped me a little. Help me send these dishes to him as a thank you gift.”

Bai Di went to find Shuang Yun with the hot meat dishes.

Shuang Yun had been in a foul mood, but when he saw the bowl of fragrant meat dishes, his mood brightened.

He quickly snatched the bowl of meat and carefully protected it as if he was afraid that someone would snatch it away.

Bai Di gave him a half-smile. “Huanhuan told me how you helped her earlier in the day. Thank you for that.”

Shuang Yun snorted. “She was the one I was helping. You should let her thank me personally. Who are you to thank me on her behalf?!”

He turned to leave.

Bai Di spoke behind him. “We’ll be leaving after winter. Don’t get any ideas about her.”

Shuang Yun stopped in his tracks and said in an unfriendly tone, “I can do whatever I want. It’s none of your business!”

…

Lin Huanhuan received the quest issued by the system.

[You’ve triggered the second quest of the Winter Season series: Please collect enough food before winter arrives.]

Lin Huanhuan did not know how much ‘enough’ meant, so she could only let Bai Di hunt as much prey as possible.

He would spend most of the day hunting.

In the past, he had always spent winters alone. His survival skills were very strong, and his hunting skills were extremely good.

Every time, he would return with a full load, causing Mu Xiang to be envious and jealous of Lin Huanhuan.

“Your mate is so good! He alone has gotten more prey than my family!”

Mu Xiang had a total of five male partners. Considering how they were able to win Mu Xiang’s favor, they were naturally very skilled, but they were still inferior to Bai Di.

Lin Huanhuan shyly explained. “He and I aren’t mates…”

Mu Xiang was astonished. “Why would you allow him to share a cave with you if he isn’t your mate? And you sleep in the same bed!”

Lin Huanhuan could not answer.

She wondered what sort of relationship she had with him.

They ate and slept together, and occasionally, Bai Di did something intimate with her, but they never took it to the last step.

Lin Huanhuan thought for a long time. In the end, she could only give a dry answer.

“He’s my family.”

But Mu Xiang said, “Mates are family too!”

Lin Huanhuan wanted to say that this was different, but she couldn’t figure out what was different.

Mu Xiang smiled mischievously at the sight of her stammering. “If you don’t want Bai Di as your mate, just say so. He’s so good at hunting. I can make him my sixth mate!”

Lin Huanhuan immediately panicked. “No, no! He can’t be your mate!”

“Why? You don’t like him anyway. It’s okay to let me have him.”

Lin Huanhuan blurted out. “Who said I don’t like him?!”

“Does that mean you like him?” Mu Xiang beamed over her shoulder.

As if realizing something, Lin Huanhuan turned to see Bai Di standing in the doorway. He was staring at the two females in silence.

Why was he back?!

Lin Huanhuan recalled what she had just said and was instantly embarrassed. She wished she could find a hole to hide in.

But he didn’t seem to notice her shyness. His face was neutral as he entered the house.

He naturally pulled Lin Huanhuan into his arms, then took out a hide pouch and handed it to Mu Xiang. “Thank you for taking care of Huanhuan these days. I’m really grateful to you. These are some crunchy fruits I picked while hunting. I hope you like them.”

Mu Xiang accepted the pouch graciously. “You’re welcome. I like Huanhuan. She’s a lovely female. You’re so blessed!”

Lin Huanhuan’s face turned red.

Mu Xiang smiled and left.

Once she was gone, only Lin Huanhuan and Bai Di were left in the cave.

The atmosphere immediately became ambiguous.

Lin Huanhuan asked uncomfortably, “Why are you back so early today?”

“I missed you, so I hurried back.” He picked her up and smiled at her. “It’s a good thing I got back in time, or I wouldn’t have heard you.”

“W-What did you hear?” Lin Huanhuan played dumb.

He leaned close to her face. “You said you like me.”

They were so close that they could count each other’s eyelashes.

Lin Huanhuan’s heart was pounding. She covered her red and hot face while arguing softly. “I never said that.”

“You’re lying. I just heard it myself.”

“You must have misheard me earlier.”

“I didn’t. You said you like me.”

Lin Huanhuan was extremely embarrassed. “I didn’t…”

“Don’t you like me?”

Lin Huanhuan slowly raised her head and looked carefully at Bai Di, who was staring at her with intense concentration.

He was asking her this very seriously.

Lin Huanhuan could not say no.

After a long pause, she said something very, very softly, “I don’t dislike you.”

Bai Di smiled, and the look of love in his blue eyes seemed to drown her. “So, you like me?”

Lin Huanhuan turned her head slowly. “I still have things to do. Let’s end this conversation here.”

Then she fled, blushing.

…

Lin Huanhuan slowly cleaned the prey that Bai Di had brought back. She smeared the juice of the Lu Fruit on it and hung it on the mountaintop to dry.

She had to guard the place in case someone stole her food.

She wasn’t idle during this time, either. In addition to the meat, she’d sent Bai Di to find a few edible vegetables to bring back.

Bai Di was a carnivore. He did not like vegetables, but Lin Huanhuan had to eat them!

Eating only meat and not vegetables would cause a nutritional imbalance in her body. She divided those vegetables into two batches. One would be dried, while the other would be stored in the cellar. Well, to make it easier to store vegetables, she’d specifically asked Bai Di to dig up a cellar under the kitchen.

Seeing that there was more and more food stored at home, Lin Huanhuan felt especially satisfied.

The system finally prompted—

[Congratulations, Host. You’ve completed the series of tasks! Rewards will be granted soon. Please check!]

A large bag of sanitary pads suddenly appeared in front of Lin Huanhuan.

She was stunned for a moment, and then she was overjoyed!

Finally, sanitary pads!

Huanhuan didn’t have to worry about her period anymore!

Lin Huanhuan happily put away the sanitary pads.

The system was really awesome. The reward every time was very practical!

It was getting colder, and Bai Di no longer went out to hunt. He stayed at home with Lin Huanhuan as they smoked meat and made pickled vegetables.

Just as winter was approaching, a group of beast-people suddenly came to the Wolf Tribe.

Their originally peaceful lives suddenly took a turn.

…